How Bon Jovi Avoided 'Career Suicide' By Changing Their Album Art

Jon Bon Jovi recalled how his fast thinking saved the release of Bon Jovi’s Slippery When Wet 40 years ago.

Released in 1986, the band’s third LP was the one that secured their success, featuring the top 10 singles “You Give Love a Bad Name,” “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Wanted Dead or Alive.”

Former guitarist Richie Sambora once explained that the title was inspired by a strip club they visited while making the album in Canada.

“The first day we walked in, this woman descended from the ceiling on a pole and proceeded to take all her clothes off,” he said. “When she got in a shower and soaped herself up, we just about lost our tongues. … That energized us through the whole project. Our testosterone was at a very high level back then.”

With a highly-sexualized title, it’s little surprise that an equally – and very ‘80s – photo was taken for the sleeve. It’s been claimed over the years that Bon Jovi rejected it because he hated the hot pink border around the image.

But in a recent interview with Absolute Radio, he delivered a more detailed account of how the record came to have its title scrawled on a wet trash sack.

“We’re 3,000 miles away in Vancouver,” he said. “The record company takes this picture of a girl’s bosom, from her lips down to her belly button, and across her chest [they] write ‘Slippery When Wet.’

What Did Jon Bon Jovi Hate About His Album Cover?

“And they send me this album cover, and I’m appalled by the cropping of the picture. It’s career suicide if you put this album cover out. And they said, ‘Well, we’ve printed up half a million of them; you’re f––d!’”

He added that the issue arose “late” in the pre-release stage, with lead single “Bad Name” already in heavy radio rotation. “And I said, ‘We’re in trouble!’ [I] went into the photo studio with the photographer, squirted a black hefty bag, wrote ‘Slippery When Wet’ with my fingers.

“And I said, ‘If it worked for AC/DC – Back in Black – it’s good enough for me. There’s your album cover!’”

The "trash bag" art was used for the North American release, while the original art was used in Japan and some other territories. As some commentators have pointed out, it almost doesn’t matter what the record looked like – it was always going to be a success.